The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, suggesting little improvement in the labour market this month after employment weakened in May.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 429,000, the Labor Department. Economists had expected claims to come in at 415,000.
The report covers the survey period for the government's closely watched data for June, which will be released on July 8.
A second report from the Commerce Department showed that new single-family home sales fell for the first time in three months in May, though inventories of new houses on the market hit record lows.
New home sales fell 2.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 319,000, though this was better than analysts had expected.
The jobless claims data are the latest in a series of economic reports to underscore the weakness in the US economy, which has persisted through the second quarter.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday acknowledged the slowdown, but said it should largely be temporary. Although it cut its growth forecasts and downgraded its view of the labour market, it gave no indication of further monetary support. The US central bank confirmed it was winding up its $600 billion bond-buying programme at the end of June.
